Wall bracket



July 11, 1944. R'. s. SANFORD WALL BRACKET 2 Sheets-Sheet4 I Filed May19, 1941 IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII Patented July 11, 1944 WALL BRACKET RoyS. Sanford, Oakville, Conn., assigner to The Incorporated, Oakville,Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Application May 19, 1941, serial No.394,086

Autoyre Company,

- 12 Claims;

This invention'relatesto a wall bracket and .has special reference to abracket for attachment to a wall for detachably supporting a tray or thelike.

More particularly, this invention relates to a S bracket for supportinga tray or the like comprising a substantially vertically extendingwallengaging plate and a substantially horizontally 'extendingtray-supporting portion secured to the plate at the lower end thereof,the plate extend- .ing a substantial distance above the tray and.

tray-supporting portion to act as a guard for the wall.

vinstance the invention is embodied in a bracket used for holding aremovable ash tray and the bracket is not only used for supporting thetray but as a guard for the wall to which the tray is attached, theVbracket extending as it does a substantial distance'above the trayacting as a fire guard.

Referring to the preferred embodiment of the invention illustrating abracket for supporting an ash tray, it has long been the desire ofindividual users to have an ash tra-y that is absolutely fireproof andit is the wish ofthe manufacturer to furnish one. The present inventionmay be said to be essentially reproof since unless the cigarette isplaced in the tray or in the holder thereof, the user will not be ableto lay the cigarette down.

A substantially horizontally extending article- 'holding member issecured to the backing plate for extension therefrom to overlie the trayin a 'manner such that the distance from the holder to the periphery ofthe tray is atleast a' major portion of` the llength'of the article tobe held. The article-holding member-comprises a stem terminating in adished rest, the rest being so dished as to support a cigarette, whenproperly placed thereon, against-- accidental displacement. Should avburning cigarette-be placed on the rest and the smoker depart from theroom, the burning cigarette when overbalanced by the portion unburnedwill drop from the rest into the tray. It is impossible for it to becomedislodged,A from the. tray since the periphery thereof is spaced fromthe rest at least a distance -a major portion of the length of thecigarette. l

A cigarette cannot be placed to be supported between the flange of thetray and the articlesupporting member because of the fact that thearticle-holding member overlies the tray in a spaced relation and theangle is too great. This same angularity is carried out inthe stemsupporting the rest and in the front edge of the rest bounding thedished portion thereof. In other words, if the article may be supportedon the article-holding 'member or on the tray in any manner, then theconstruction of the bracket is such that the burning cigarette whenoverhalanced by the unburned portion will fall into the tray.

The vertically extending wall-engaging plate of the bracket, as abovestated, acts as a guard for that portion of the Wall to which thebracket is attached. The plate extends a substantial distance above thetray and the tray-*supporting portion of the bracket so that when anas-htray is supported the plate acts to guard against the burning of thewall and when a soap dish is supported the plate acts as a splash guard.One of the objects 0f this invention is to provide a wall bracket of thecharacter indicated above for supporting an ashtray in which essentiallyall re hazard is eliminated.

Another object of this invention is to provide a wall bracket of thecharacter above noted wherein the wall-engaging portion of the bracketacts as a guard for the wall.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will hereinafter be moreparticularly pointed out and, for a more complete understanding of thecharacteristic features of this invention, reference may now be had tothe following descirption when taken together with the accompanyingdrawings, in which latter:

Figure l is a perspective view of the w'all bracket and detachablysupported tray therefor embodying the features' of this invention, thetray being separated from the bracket;

Fig. 2 is a central, longitudinal', sectional View of the assembled wallbracket and tray shown in Fig. 1, the assembly being secured to a Wall;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary detailed sectional View taken on the line 3-3 ofFig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary plan sectional View of a portion of the brackettaken on the line @-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view of the article-holding member ofthe bracket taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a plan elevational` view of a modified form of wall bracketand tray construction embodying the features of this invention;

Fig. 7 is a front elevational view of Fig. 6;

Fig. 7a is a fragmentary detail sectional View taken along the line'la-'la of Fig. 6; and

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of another form of wall bracket embodyingthe features of this invention and which may be employed for supportingthe tray of Fig, 1 when the wall to which it is desired to attach thebracket is inthe form of a depending skirt of a fixture for bathroomsand the like, or the dashboard of an automobile.

Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to Figs. 1 to 5,inclusive, thereof, the wall bracket therein shown as embodying theyfeatures of this invention` comprises arsubstan-v tially verticallyextending wall-engaging plate Ill having a substantially horizontally'extending-A traysupporting portion II secured to the plate at the lowerend thereof. A substantially Chorizontally extending article-holdingmember I2 is secured to the plate I0 for extension therefrom to overliea tray I3 supported by the tray-supporting portion Il.

The substantially vertically extending Wallengaging plate I0 maypreferably comprise an `embossed sheet metal plate, the embossing, aside'from structurallyV strengthening 'the' plate, en-

hancing theappearance. The contour and design of the plates may, ofcourse, be of any desired form in keeping with the usage to which it is,the article-holding member and the plate be concealed from View. Thearticle-holding member l2 comprises a stem portion I6 formed preferablyof sheet metal bent intov substantially inverted channel form with theintermediate portion thereof being of substantially' V-shape for apurpose which will hereinafter be more fully pointed ,out. One of theends ofeach of the side wall l'members of the stem portion I6 is bentinwardly I.to form recess-engaging portions l1 for soldering,

spot welding, as indicated by the' reference numeral Ila in Fig. 5, orotherwise securing the rarticle-holding memberl I2 in a vfixed relation-with the plate I0.

ll'he free end of the article-holdingmember I2 terminates in a laterallyextending dished rest I8 in which opposed edge portions I9 and 2E) ofthe dished rest are upwardly inclined as shown more particularly inFig. 1. The dished portion 'i8 preferably joins the rearedge portion 20in a substantially straight edge a, but the dished portion I8 and thefront edge portion I9 merge into a. smooth curve as shown (Figs. 1 and2) 4with the slightly upwardly extending edge portion I9 terminatingshort of the ends of the dished portion I 8 so as to form at each endthereof unobstructed rounded edge portions I9a the purpose of which willbe morefully described hereinafter.

The substantially horizontally extending tray` supporting portion II isformed of laterally spreadable spaced resilient sheet metal :arms whichare welded at a medial portion thereof,

Preferably at the` points 2|, to the plate lll atV the lower endthereof, as shownmore particularly in Fig. 4, the medialportion ofthetray support II theV article supported on the rest.

being apertured as shown to permit one of the screws I4 to passtherethrough. The laterally spreadable resilient sheet metal arms areprovided with channel portions 22 and 23, as shown more particularly inFig. 3, to receive respectively perlpherally beaded portions 24 and 25of the tray I3. While two channel portions are formed in the resilientarms of the tray-supporting portion II of th'e bracket for receiving twoperipheral beads of a tray, it is, of course, to be understood that buta single complementary bead and channel portion may be employed and thatthe channel may be formed in the tray for receiving a bead ofthesupporting member therefor as desired. VHerein and in the claims it maybe considered that the bead and. the channel portions may be formedr ineither of the members so long as one complements the other. By virtue ofthe fact that the resilient arms engage more than one-half the peripheryof the tray I3 (as can best be seen in Figs. 2, 6 and 7), the arms-r I Iwill be forcibly bent outwardly when inserting the tray I3 until theyare spread to an extent equal to the outside diameter of the tray. Asone pushes the tray in further the arms II will contract, 'exerting apushing action upon the tray so that it will quickly and readily snapinto position. Not only is the tray thus quickly placed into position,but it is also held securely against accidental displacement. This, inpart, is the result of the engagement of the upper rim of the tray bythe uppermost flange of the channel portion 23 of the arms` I I, whichpartly surround the bead 25 of the tray I3 (see Figs. 2, 3, 6 and '7)The dished rest I8 of the article-holding member overlies a centralportion of the tray and the distance from the rest to the peripheryofthe tray is at least a major portion of the length of For example, ifa cigarette is to be supported on the dished rest, then the distancefrom the periphery of the dished rest to the closest portion of theperiphery of the tray is more than half the length of the cgarette. If alighted cigarette is disposed on the dished rest I8 so that it mayremain on the rest against displacement therefrom at the time it isdisposed thereon, then the lighted cigarette will fall into the dishbelow after the unburned portion overbalances the burned portion.Because of the provision of the unobstructed rounded edge portions I9aany tendency of a cigarette to tilt and fall off of either end of thedished rest I8 due to overbalance, will cause the cigarette to rollforward over the adjacent unobstructed edge portion ISa into the trayI3, thus further insuring that a lighted cigarette upon falling from thedished rest I8 will always be caught in the tray I3.

Because of the angularity between the raised dished rest I8 and theperiphery of the tray, it would be impossible to rest a cigarettetherebetween. Similarly, it would be impossible to rest a cigarette sothat it would remain seated on top of the dished rest and extend in thedirection of the stem thereof because of the inverted V-shape of thestem I6. Also, because of the smooth rounded nature of the edge I9, itwould be impossible to permanently rest a cigarette between it and therim of the tray. Therefore, the cigarette must be disposed on the restI8 or in the tray/'so that in any position of rest it would be theopposite ends of the dished rest 3|.

5 size. lcigarette on the edge of the tray, it is `preferable thedrawings.

side edges of the tray in ,fthe elongated direction1 is at least a majorportion of the length of the "article supported bythe article-holdingmember 7 of the drawings, the only difference between :the embodimenttherein shown and the previously described embodiment isY the shape ofthe tray,

and of course the shape of that portion of the bracketrwith which theAtray is directly associated. The present form embodying the features ofthis invention comprises a substantially verticallyextendingwall-'engaging plate 26 havof embossed sheet metal andextending a sub- -st`antial distance above the tray-supporting portion21. "-ingarticle-holding member 28 is secured to the The substantiallyhorizontally extendlplate 25 to overlie a tray 29 supported by thetray-supporting portion 21 of the bracket.

The article-holding member 28 comprises a stem 30 preferably of sheetmetal formed into Vsubstantiallyy channel cross section with an invertedV-shaped intermediate portion. The stem .terminates in a laterallyextending dish-shaped 'frest 3| in which latter opposed edges 32 and 33are rounded and upwardly inclined, respectively, `the front edge 32being similar to the frontedge 4I'El in the previously describedembodiment to provide unobstructedrounded edge portions at The tray isof an elongated shape and is provided with peripheral beads 34 and 35received in channel portions 36 and 31, respectively, of laterallyspreadable resilient sheet metal arms forming the :tray-supportingportion 2l. Vrhe tray 29 of the present embodiment is particularlyadaptable for use in association with -the so-called king size cigaretteor that cigarette which is substantially longer than the average Inorder to prevent the resting of the 'that the side edges of the traydecrease in height `from a medial point in the direction of itselongation as shown more particularly in Fig. 7 of The distance from therest to the so that the article supported on the rest 28 will "drop intothe tray when the unburned portion rette in the tray itself that may beobtained in this construction because particularly of the de- 'j creasein height outwardly of a medial point in *a direction of the elongationof the tray.

` In some cases it is desirable detachably to sup- ,port wall bracketsembodying this invention on jwalls which are in the form of a dependingskirt, Ifor example the dashboard' of an automobile or lthe dependingskirt of a bathroom or kitchen -fixture, and accordingly Vthe inventionmay be [embodied as shown in Fig. 8 in a construction 'suitable for suchuse. In Figure 8 the vertically extending wall engaging .plate 38 isprovided at its lower edge with a pair of substantially U- A shapedclips formed of spring metal and having "front plates 39 adapted toextend along the depending skirt or wall to which the bracket is to `be`secured. Each U-shaped clip also includes a "rear plate 40 adapted toextend along the rear .direction toward each other for frictionallyengaging the skirt or wall upon which the bracket is to be mounted.

As shown, the rear plates 40 are connected by a bridging portion 42 andare provided with inturned projections 43 at the upper ends thereof forproviding'a line contact with the wall to which the bracket is applied.Preferably, and as shown in the drawings, the U-siiaped members or clipsare formed integrally with the wall-engaging plate 38 which is usuallyformed from spring material.

' The wall-engaging plate 38 is otherwise similar to the plate I0 ofFig. l and carries an articleholding member 44 similar to the member I2-of Fig. 1 for overlying a tray (not shown) 'supported byatray-supporting portion 45 similar to the tray-supporting portion Il ofFig. l, the member 44 and a medial portion of the tray-supportingportion 45 being secured to the plate 38 as heretofore described inconnection with the embodiment of Fig. 1. l

While several embodiments of this invention are here'm shown anddescribed, it is to be understood that various modifications thereof maybe apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from thespirit and scope of this invention and, therefore, the same is only tobe limited by the scope of the prior art and th appended claims.

I claim:

l.- A bracket for supporting a tray having a peripheral bead thereoncomprising a substantially vertically extending wall-engaging plate, andtwo substantially horizontally therefrom-extending laterally spreadableresilient grooved arms for frictionally engaging the bead of said traywithin the grooves thereof for the greater portion of the periphery ofthe tray.

2. A bracket for supporting a peripherally beaded tray'comprising asubstantially vertically extending wall-engaging plate, and spacedsubstantially horizontally extending laterally spreadable resilient armsincluding channelshaped portions extending forwardly from said plate forfrictionally receiving the bead of" said tray over a substantial portionof the peripheral length thereof, said resilient arms being secured tosaid plate at the lower end thereof, said plate extending a substantialdistance above said tray and arms to act as a guard for the Wall.

3. A bracket for supporting a peripherally beaded tray comprising asubstantially vertically extending wall-engaging plate, and spacedsubstantially horizontally extending integrally formed laterallyspreadable resilient arms including channel-shaped portions extendingforwardly from said plate for frictionally receiving the bead of saidtray over a substantial portion of the peripheral length thereof, saidresilient arms being secured at a medial portion thereof to said. plateat the lower end thereof, said plate extending a substantial distanceabove said tray and arms to act as a guard for the wall.

4. A bracket for supporting a tray comprising a substantiallyVvertically extending wall-engaging plate, substantially horizontally`extending laterally spreadable resilient tray-supporting arms securedto said plate at the lower end thereof, said plate extending asubstantial distance above said tray and tray-supporting arms t0 act asa guard for'the wall1 and a substantially horizontally extendingarticle-holding member secured to said plate and overlying said tray,said `supporting portion to act as a guard for the wall,

and a substantially horizontally extending -ar- ,ticle-holding membersecured to said plate and overlying said tray, said member including astem lportion Yof inverted substantially V-shaped cross sectionterminating in an integral laterally extending dished rest. 6. An ashtray comprising an elongated tray having side edges decreasing in height.from a -medial point in the direction of its elongation,

supported by a bracket comprising a substantially `vertically extendingwall-engaging plate, a substantially horizontally extendingtray-supporting portion secured to said plate at the .lower end thereof,said plate extending a substantial distance above said tray andtray-supporting portion to act as a guard for the wall, and a sub-`stantially horizontally extending article-holding member secured tosaid plate, said member in- .cluding a stem portion terminating in alaterally extending dished rest overlying a central portion of saidtray, the distance from said rest to said ,7. A bracket for supporting atray comprising `a substantially vertically extending wall-engagingplate, a substantially horizontally extending tray-supporting portionsecured to said plate at the lower end thereof, said plate extending asubstantial distance above said tray and traysupporting portionV to actas a guard for the '.wall, and a substantially horizontally extendingarticle-holding member secured to said plate, said member including astem portion terminating in a laterally extending dished rest overlyinga central portion of said tray, the opposed edge end portions.

' 8. A bracket for supporting a tray comprising asubstantiallyvertically extending wall-engag-, ing plate, a substantiallyhorizontally extending tray supporting portion secured to s-aid plate atthe lower end thereof, and attaching means ex- 3.0 side edges of saidtray in the elongated direction being at least a major portion of thelength of the article. Y

portions of said dished rest being l upwardly inclined, and at least oneedge having rounded tending substantially vertically downwardly fromvsaid lower end of said plate comprising laterally s i spaced arms andrearwardly spaced arms .respectively associated with said laterallyspaced arms and connected thereto at the lower ends of said arms to formsubstantially U-shaped clamps for engaging an edge of a supporting wall,`a bridging portion connecting said rearwardly spaced arms, saidw-all-engaging plate extending a substantial distance above said trayand tray- 'supporting portion to act as a guard for said wall.

9. A bracket for supporting a peripherally':

beaded tray comprising a substantiallyvertically extending embossedsheet metal wall eng-aging plate, spaced substantially horizontallyextending resilient sheet metal arms having a channel portion formedtherein for frictionally receiving the peripheral bead of said tray,said arms being secured at a medial portion thereof to said plate at thelower .end thereof, and resilient substantially U-shaped sheet metalarms extending downwardly and rearwardly of said plate for engaging anedge of a supporting wall detachably lto clamp said wall-engaging platethereto, said plate extending a substantial distance above said tray andsaid horizontally extending arms to act as a gu-ardfor-.said wall.

1,0. A bracket forY supporting a peripherally Ybeaded tray comprising asubstantially vertically extending embossedsheet metal wall-engagingplate, spaced substantially horizontally extending resilient sheet metalarms having a channel portion formed therein for frictionally receivingthe peripheral bead of said tray, said arms being secured at armedialportion thereof to said plate ,at the lower end thereof, said plateextending a substantial distancefabove said tray and arms to act as aguard for the wall, resilient substantially U-shaped sheet4 metal armsextending downwardly and rearwardly of said plate for engaging an,y edge,of a supporting wall detachably to clamp said wall-engaging platethereto,

"the rearwardly disposed portions of said last .at the lower endthereof, said plate extending a substantial distance. above said trayand traysupporting portion to act as a guard for the wall,

andv a substantially horizontally extending article-holding membersecured to said plate, said member including a stem portion terminatingin a laterally extending dished rest overlying a central portion of saidtray, the forward edge portion of said dished rest being upwardlyinclined and rounded at its ends which terminate short of the lateralends of vsaid dished rest to provide unobstructed front edge portions,whereby lateral tilting of an article placed in said rest due to lateraloverbalance of the article is accompanied by a forward rolling motionover the adjacent unobstructedlfront edge portion.

12. A bracket for supporting a tray comprising a substantiallyvertically extending wall-engaging plate, a substantially*horizontallyextending tray-supporting portion secured to said plate at the lower endthereof, said plate extending a substantial distance above said tray andtraysupporting portion to act as a guard for the wall, and asubstantially horizontally extending Aarticle-holding member secured tosaid plate, said member'including a stem portion terminating in alaterally extending dished rest overlying a central portion of saidtray, one edge portion of said dished rest vbeing upwardly inclined androunded at its ends which terminate short of the lateral ends of saiddished rest to provide a raised medial edge portion for restraining anarticle balanced in said rest from rolling over said one edge, and toprovide unobstructed portions at the lateral ends of said edge to permitsaid article to roll thereover when tilted over a lateral end of saiddished rest due to overbalance of the article.

' ROY S. SANFORD.

